Home
>
Stress Management
>
Panic Is No Laughing Matter

Panic Is No Laughing Matter

Burt Reynolds revealed his vulnerable side when he realized he was being steered into marriage. One day while browsing the furniture department with his would-be bride, he suddenly collapsed onto a bed and doubled into the protective fetal form. Moments later, he was sucking oxygen through a brown paper bag, his eyes wide and darting.

His panic attack was interpreted in a humorous way for the sake of the movie, but real panic and anxiety attack survivors know there's nothing funny about it.

Impending divorce triggered my first major panic episode. It stirred almost daily, waiting for any event that would bring it to the surface in a full blown attack. Sure enough such an event did arise, but not from any outside force.

While I contemplated taking a shower one day, anxiety swept over me, along with an unexplained dread that something terrible was going to happen. Suddenly, I was afraid to eat, afraid to go out, afraid to stay home alone.

As I drove down the highway, uprooted trees and black garbage bags along the route took on indistinguishable grotesque shapes. Passing through overpasses was particularly alarming as I dreaded losing control and smashing into the abutment. Elevators and stairwells triggered a new symptom: claustrophobia.

Particularly alarming was the day I was afraid I'd lose control and toss myself off the 6th floor balcony. That's when I knew it was time to get help.

Two years of psychiatric treatment eventually brought an end to those terrifying events. Until 10 years later when I decided to switch careers and return to college. I was 37.

Then, it happened again. I was in the huge school cafeteria walking along the self serve line. It began as I became intensely aware of the drone of voices echoing throughout the quadrant. Quite unexpectedly, anxiety swept over me. I thought I'd lose my mind as my heart and thoughts raced and that old familiar dread took hold.

Struggling with the attack, I made it to a seat and tried to eat my lunch but it soon became apparent it wasn't possible. The initial fear was verging on panic. I rushed from the cafeteria to the nursing station at the top of the stairs, but at that point, I felt it might pass.

I continued aimlessly down the busy hallway. All I could think of was getting away from the noise, the bustling students and the insecure openness. Moments later, sitting in the peaceful, dimly lit student lounge, I curled up in an armchair and fell asleep. When I awoke, the attack had passed.

Years ago, my doctor had explained that my attacks were a result of a chemical imbalance. He also pointed out that a lack of confidence and a sense of impending loss of control were related to my anxiety.

During my therapy, I persistently plied him with questions and bombarded him with every sensation I had over the previous week. He was a man of few words, always turning my questions back on me to interpret. Through his few choice words, worries of things going wrong in my life were soon mere flashes, rather than mounting thoughts to stoke my simmering anxiety.

His advice echoed when I emerged from that major panic attack at the college 10 years later. I was in a strange environment undertaking a new career. The attack clearly was brought on by my fear of failing, along with numerous other fears.

It all made sense. I was moving into a new frontier with new faces, new challenges. In all likelihood, I would emerge a new person, but as happened with my divorce, it was a time when I feared I would lose control of my body, my mind and my life.

What saved me was something my psychiatrist said years before when he responded quite simply to one of my 'what if?' questions. His reply has become my 'mantra', if you will.

In an effort to make me focus directly on the issue and think rationally about the outcome, he merely asked, 'So what?' Who could have known that those two small words would become my rock? The moment a terrifying thought entered my head, all I had to do was ask, "So what? What's the worst that could happen?" and it was never as bad as I'd imagined. And today, it always brings me back to earth. There is help for you, too.

Recently, I came across a product that I wish I had when my panic attacks were raging. This e-book provides an equally simple and highly effective solution for people who have panic attacks.

Understanding how the body reacts is the first step to knowing that panic and anxiety attacks can be cured without medication. Joe Barry has taught thousands of people to be panic free. To learn more about his successful formula go to http://www.book-titles.ca/panic.htm.

Sylvia Dickens has struggled and overcome panic and anxiety. Formerly with the Canadian Mental Health Association, she's written, "A Guide to Teenage Depression & Suicide" and offers a book to cure panic quickly and without medication. You can learn more at http://www.book-titles.ca/panic.htm.

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

Panic Is No Laughing Matter

Stress Management